Harvesting of berries such as blueberries, strawberries and raspberries requires great care in order to avoid damaging the fruits. On the other side, in order to be profitable, the method or apparatus used for harvesting berries should provide a maximum amount of berries in the shortest time.
Already known in the art of berry harvesting, more particularly of blueberry harvesting, there is the apparatus that resembles a wheelbarrow in that it consists of a two-wheeled vehicle with handles at the rear and a tiltable shallow container at the front, the container being movable between an upward and a downward position, as a seesaw. In the front, the container has the shape of a comb, for seizing branches of blueberries when the apparatus is moved in a field of blueberries with the container in the downward position. When the comb is full of branches, the container is moved in the upward position thereby taking off the blueberries which then fall within the container. As can be easily understood, the harvesting capacity of such a prior art apparatus which has to be pushed by the user is very small indeed.
There is thus presently a need for a profitable, simple and affordable berry harvester.